CLIMAAX celebrates inaugural year full of community engagement

Throughout its inaugural year, the CLIMAAX project made airwaves on the international stage by attending multiple high-level events as well as organising various online sessions.

CLIMAAX celebrates inaugural year full of community engagement

Throughout its inaugural year, the CLIMAAX project made airwaves on the international stage by attending multiple high-level events as well as organising various online sessions.

As the CLIMAAX project sparks its first year during the project’s General Assembly held in Setúbal, Portugal, the events are on the uptake. Not only has the project been present at high-profile international conferences and events, but throughout its first year it has also organised numerous informative online events. Here’s an overview.

Throughout the beginning of the year, multiple consortium partners took part in numerous international gatherings together with the mission adaptation community. Such events include the Climateurope2 webstival where CLIMAAX was invited to talks about the EU adaptation strategy, climate risk assessment, mission adaptation, and other Horizon Europe missions during an official CLIMAAX side-event. Rewatch the recording here.

CLIMAAX was actively involved in critical forums like the second Forum on the EU Mission Adaptation to Climate Change and the European Urban Resilience Forum.

The project was and also presented at the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels: the workshop showcased frameworks designed to assess climate risks, with a specific emphasis on creating socially just regional transition roadmaps. During the panel discussion, the participants explored opportunities to integrate these frameworks into cross-border climate resilience-building actions paving the way towards further collaboration with the community.

Shortly after, the first online CLIMAAX-organised event was held. The CLIMAAX InfoDay: “Empowering regions for climate resilience” attracted participants from across the board and included a comprehensive overview of the project, including Climate Risk Assessments, the CLIMAAX Toolbox, Pilot Regions, and the Open Call including the opportunities it offers. Rewatch the recording here

A month later, in December, the CLIMAAX Open Call was published and the project partners from FundingBox accompanied that with a so-called “How to Apply” webinar to commemorate that. Watch the recording here.  

At the end of January, EURADA organised a webstival session named “Navigating towards more Climate Resilient Regions” at Setúbal’s city hall, where the consortium gathered to strategise for the project’s critical phase that kickstarted in January. Bart van den Hurk, Scientific Director at DELTARES, set the tone with an overview of the project’s goals, followed by a round table discussion among partners on addressing diverse climate challenges in vastly distinctive regions.

The session also highlighted the first Open Call offering up to EUR300,000 for implementing the CLIMAAX Framework and Toolbox. Testimonials from pilot regions, including Setúbal and Zilina City, offered practical insights, while sister projects shared best practices. The event concluded with an interactive Q&A session, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.

Finally, a second “How to Apply” session was organised by FundingBox to allow applicants and other interested entities to ask any questions they may need to finalise their application before 8 March. If you wish to be reminded of how to apply for this open call, watch the session here. Please follow our playlist on YouTube to stay up to date on any further recordings! 

As we reflect on the milestones achieved thus far, it becomes clear that CLIMAAX is not only a project but a catalyst for action towards climate resilience and climate-ready regions. After a very incentivising General Assembly, we look forward to working together even closer to pave the way towards a more climate-resilient future for all (by Jip Lenssen, EURADA).